Weekly Poker Roundup: September 16, 2017

Absolute Poker, UltimateBet Claims Process Continues

Garden City Group (GCG), the administrator that is handling claims for lost Absolute Poker and UltimateBet funds, confirmed on the claims website (AbsolutePokerClaims.com) that it is currently reviewing completed Petitions that were filed before the due date of September 7th. Many Petitions in which the former players have confirmed the dollar amounts have already been approved and e-mails have been sent to direct people to submit their banking information for payment.

When the claims are done being reviewed, GCG will move on to disputed claims, ones in which the player believes he or she is owed a different amount of money than GCG has indicated.

GCG will still review Petitions submitted after the deadline, but those people will have to go to the back of the line and wait for the rest of the claims to be reviewed.

Anti-Online Poker Congressman Will Not Run for Re-Election

Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2018. Though his position as a moderate Republican is generally appreciated in this day of severely polarized politics, his departure will be great for poker fans, as he is one of the few lawmakers in Washington, D.C. who is actively working to ban online poker.

Unlike Senator Lindsey Graham and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who both introduced Sheldon Adelson’s Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA), Dent has tried to sneak RAWA-like language into a must-pass Appropriations bill in order to get it passed without proper review and debate. He failed at his attempt last year, as he was found out by his colleagues before he could do it, but reports are that he will try again this year.

What’s interesting about his efforts is that Dent is working against the interest of his home state, as Pennsylvania lawmakers have been trying to legalize and regulate online gambling in the Commonwealth and it is supported by a majority of the state’s residents.

Partypoker Launches Women’s Initiative

Online poker room partypoker has launched “partypoker Ladies,” an initiative “that gives the female poker players out there the opportunity to socialise and play poker with like minded women from around the globe,” according to the partypoker blog.

To go along with this, partypoker is hosting a women’s-only online tournament for the first time. The $109 buy-in Ladies Event is now part of the Powerfest schedule, and is slated for September 24th at 8:00pm BST. The prize pool is guaranteed to be at least $10,000. partypoker pros and ambassadors Beata Jambrik, Natalia Breviglieri, and Kristen Bicknell all have bounties on their heads, so players who knock them out of the tournament will receive a refund of their $109 buy-in and will be freerolling the rest of the way.

Of course, social media is a part of this, as well, with partypoker Ladies and Brazilian partypoker Ladies Instagram accounts and a partypoker Ladies forum on Facebook.

888, Ladbrokes Run Terrible Fake News Advertisements

Four online gambling companies – 888, Ladbrokes, Sky Vegas, and Casumo – got in trouble with the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for ridiculous online ads they ran that blatantly posed as fake news. The ads were denoted as “advertorials,” but the copy made them look much more like real news pieces, even including fake reader comments afterwards.

But it wasn’t just the look of the ads that drew the ire of the ASA. The “articles” told the story of “William,” who was floundering in six-figures of debt because of his wife’s medical bills. While he was hanging out in the hospital, he stumbled upon an ad for 888 (or Ladbrokes, Sky Vegas, or Casumo), which touted a “free bonus “and the chance to win £700,000. Of course, this “William” person deposited, played, won, and freed his family from the bonds of debt.

In its report, the ASA wrote, in part, “Because we considered that the ads suggested gambling could provide an escape from personal problems such as depression and that it could be a solution financial concerns, we considered it to be socially irresponsible and was therefore in breach of the Code.”

The companies have been told to never run these ads again and must take steps to be more responsible in the future.